Quad9
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Free, privacy-first malware-blocking DNS that anyone can switch on in minutes . a no-brainer default for individuals and small orgs.
New check
Comparison
Quad9 vs Control D
Quad9 and Control D both land on Worth it.
Control D
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want network-wide ad, tracker, and malware blocking . and test the free resolvers first.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Worth it |
| Best for | Privacy-conscious individuals | Households wanting network-wide ad/malware blocking |
| Who it's not for | Enterprises needing dashboards, reporting, or policy control | Anyone expecting VPN privacy . this is DNS filtering, not a VPN |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources. | Reddit reports poor service attitude |
| Public sentiment | Users praise Quad9's security and privacy but repeatedly report intermittent outages and DNS resolution failures.⁵ | Enthusiasts switching from NextDNS are mostly satisfied, but latency, smart-TV buffering, billing, and support complaints recur.11 |
| Biggest gotcha | Keep a fallback resolver configured; users report random outages. | Per-device pricing multiplies fast across many gadgets; HN commenters flag cost vs rivals |
Pick Quad9 when
- Privacy-conscious individuals
- Set-and-forget malware protection
- Nonprofits and schools
- Research institutions (e.g. FRGP)
When Quad9 is not a fit
- Enterprises needing dashboards, reporting, or policy control
- Anyone wanting ad or content filtering
- Teams needing SLAs or paid support
- Guess: latency chasers who want the absolute fastest resolver
Pick Control D when
- Households wanting network-wide ad/malware blocking
- Router and homelab tinkerers (OPNsense, pfSense)
- Small IT teams needing managed DNS filtering
- NextDNS users wanting custom endpoints
When Control D is not a fit
- Anyone expecting VPN privacy . this is DNS filtering, not a VPN
- Price-sensitive homes with many devices; per-device fees stack up
- Enterprises wanting a full security platform, not one DNS layer
- Zero-config users . good free resolvers need no account at all
Sources
- Quad9 official sitequad9.netofficial
- Quad9 Documentationdocs.quad9.netofficial
- Quad9 DNS review . TechRadartechradar.comreview
review
- r/Quad9 community reportsreddit.comreview
- Control D vs. Quad9 comparisoncontrold.comreview
- Quad9 to protect users from malware and phishinggbhackers.comnews
news
- IBM Launches Quad9 Public DNS Service 9.9.9.9securityonline.infonews
official
review